Church Work and Life

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1041, 4 August 1930, Page 14

Church Work and Life

Messages from the Pulpit

THE MILITANT CHRIST

UNCOMPROMISING FOE OF ALL EVIL SAVIOUR’S MORAL STRENGTH ‘"The Militant Christ” was the subject of a sermon by the Rev. P. A. Thompson in the Northcote Presbyterian Church yesterday evening. The minister showed the Saviour to be a Man of strength. The four parties in Palestine that kindled Christ’s indignation were the Pharisees, Sadduces, Herodians, and ihe lawyers, said the preacher. These men were not only spiritually stupid, they were malicious and wicked. Christ always dealt kindly with the merely stupid folk, for they were often honest, but with cavillers and carping critics He dealt mercilessly "When His hypocritical enemies sought to ensnare Him in argument He sternly resisted, and smote them unsparingly He never sought to placate His enemies, nor to soften the antagonism between them and Himself. He made no concessions, offered no apologies. He laid bare their insincerity before the eyes of all who heard Him. There was no possible harmony between them. They represented moral antipodes. They hated Him with the immemorial hatred of the evil for the goodi In this moral conflict, Christ was a clean lighter. Heaven’s princeknight in the arena, beset by the forces of evil. He did not flglit merely on the defensive, continued Mr. Thompson. He assumed the offensive. He not only silenced His foes by the swiftness, aptness, and completeness of His answers to their double-edged questions —He struck through their armour and pierced their vital parts. To men who claimed to be experts in the knowledge of God and the Scriptures, He said these* words: “Ye have not His word in you. I know that ye have not the love of God in you: if another came in His own name, him will ye receive. Ye neither knew Me nor My Father.” So calmly but tremendously did He strike home to their evil hearts. It was the picture of One greater than the angel of the Apocalypse standing with a flaming sword in His hand. "We are indebted to His enemies’ attacks for some of the sublimest declarations of Christ concerning Himself,” said Mr. Thompson. “Either Jesus was the Son of God, or He bore false witness in the presence- of His enemies, for no one can read such incidents and have any doubt that He claimed to be the Divine Son in the strongest and most unquestionable teims.” TABLET UNVEILED The Rev. Mr. Truman officiated at the unveiling, in the Panmure Anglican Church yesterday, of a tablet in memory of Major Herbert Bowen Hamblin, D. 5.0., who was killed in the Great War. Major Hamblin, who was born at Panmure in 1885. served with the 10th Eight Horse Division of the Australian Imperial Forces. He saw active service on Gallipoli and in Palestine, dying at Ismailia on May 13, 1919.

MEMORIAL SERVICE ONEHUNGA ORANGEMEN ATTEND There was a large attendance of Orangemen at the Onehunga Methodist Church last evening, when a service was held in memory of the late Brother E. A. Yates. The service was conducted by Bro. the Rev F. E. Leadley, who took as his text the words of the apostle Paul: “For I am now ready to be offered. The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.” (XI Timothy, C and 7.) These, said Mr. Leadley, were the words of a hardy crusader who had braved a thousand deaths for Christ, and was awaiting the summons without a tremor. Nothing was grander than a man fighting the evil within him and around him. Many fought for wealth, others for power; but Paul kept the course of faith. He made no excuses for work badly done or work left undone. He did not say he had been a good man, but that he had made a good fight. It took a man his whole time to be a real Christian. Like Paul’ the late Bro Yates could say he had fought a good fight and kept the faith. He was a strong Protestant aud an original thinker. As a lay preacher in the Methodist Church he would be greatly missed. The large number present that evening was an eloquent testimony to the high esteem in which the late brother was held. The choir, under the leadership of Mr. A. R. Gatland, sang Woodward's anthem, "Crossing the Bar.” Among those present were the following members of the District Lodge No. 2:—War. Bro. G. Searle (District Master), J. Ward (District Past Master), G. Elliott (D.D.), F. Carter (D. Chaplain), A, Galbraith (D. Secretary). S. Burt (D. Treasurer), Bro. Smith (D.D.O. Ceremonies). Members of primary lodges Nos. 1,2, 10, 14, 7S, SB, 102 and 114. Members ■o.ih ’6f: ‘SI ‘Z ’s°N saapoj s.tiauiOAt to W. H. Hayward (Lodge SS) was D.O. ceremonies. POWER OF LOVE MEETS ALL MAN’S NEED “Lov.fi” was tho subject of the lesson-sermon in First Church of Christ, Scientist, Auckland, yesterday. The golden text was from 1., John, 4, 12: “No man hath seen God at any time: if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.” Among the citatious was the following from the Bible: “Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the most high thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalms 91, 9, 10). The lesson-sermon also included the following passage from the Christian Science textbook: “Divine love always has met, and always will meet, every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the Divine power to heal only for a select number, or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour Diviue love supplies all good.”